


Taste Of You

by connorssock



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Anal Sex, Attempted robbery, Baker!Gavin, Butt Plugs, Customer!Connor, Gavin and Tina BroTP, Get Together, Human AU, M/M, Sex Toys, Wedding Cake Baker AU, enemies to idiots to lovers, sex in the workplace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-30
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-13 23:03:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21241682
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/connorssock/pseuds/connorssock
Summary: Running a cake shop wasn’t as easy or as fun as everyone had promised Gavin. Sure, he excelled at the baking part but he left the whole facing the customers bit to Tina. She could charm anyone out of hideous amounts of cash for a cake and make them feel like it was a great deal. Which was why it was odd that she was making Gavin take point on one of the customers, seemingly a punishment detail for all concerned.





	Taste Of You

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Convin Big Bang with art by the amazing @hrtbrokengen who has a whole host of mind blowing art over on Twitter. I can't scream about their talents enough.

There was a reason Tina was front of house while Gavin stayed in the back, actually creating the cakes. She had a warm, welcoming smile and a way of putting everyone at ease, steering them gently towards choices which would suit their needs best. Meanwhile, Gavin was all but ready to mash a platter of taster samples in smug faces when he’d had enough. “Too creamy” and “too rich” mixed with “I’m just not sure it screams ‘us’ enough” always got to him. Usually, he could live through it but after the customers had left, he always had to go out back and bake something outrageous which Tina would chide him for before they took it back to one of theirs and ate it while watching something dumb.

So when Tina had a day off, Gavin was prepared for a day of suffering. Though a quick glance at the calendar showed he only had to deal with one tasting session and 3 cakes. Which meant a nice, quiet day. Of course, his wishes and hopes were shattered when, during his lunch hour, the chime on the door went and summoned him to the counter. He didn’t even have it in him to smile. Stomping out of the kitchen, his half eaten sandwich on the counter, he glared at the intruder.

“What do you want?”

The man in question turned large brown eyes at him. “I was hoping to book in a tasting session for the Anderson-Stern wedding. I spoke to someone on the phone about it and they said to just come in when I have a moment.”

“It would seem you have a moment now then. It’s my lunch break though, come back in 45 minutes.” Not the best response and definitely not the way to run a successful business but Gavin was cranky, he could stand to lose one sale.

“Well so am I,” the guy shot back without a pause. “And considering I’m the one trying to give you my hard earned money for your services, perhaps you could get a better attitude with a better service. Or maybe even get the lady I spoke on the phone with. She sounded like she actually cared.”

That kind of attitude was just not going to do. Gavin puffed up, chest out and at full height he stalked up to the guy, jabbing a finger in his chest.

“You can take that filthy attitude and dirty money to another shop. I am not some trash begging for your cash and Tina doesn’t care about you in the slightest. We work customer service, it’s our job to pretend to give a flying toss about the idiots who want to pay for some stupidly lavish cake for their perfect day. I hope your marriage lasts longer than my patience for you has.”

Offended, the guy stormed out without another word and Gavin sneered after him. Damned uppity idiots who think just because they have the money, they can treat everyone else like slaves. Good riddance, Gavin’s shop could withstand a scathing review from a twit like that, he wasn’t going to bake a cake for just anyone because they had cash to spare. Not thinking about it more than a passing grumble, he returned to the kitchen and his sandwich.

By the time Tina got in the next morning, Gavin had all but forgotten about the rude customer. He’d had a couple of intricate cakes he had to start on, one of them was likely to take about two days to set then finish with decorations. Why some people wanted such fancy cakes when half of it was going to be mashed in faces and dropped to the floor by accident, Gavin would never know. Then again, he often questioned why on earth he went into baking as a career when he hated cakes and didn’t understand why people would spend so much money on it. No, that was a lie, he knew exactly why he went into baking. The official reason was that he loved the transition from batter to cake, the transformation never ceased to amaze him. Which, technically, was true. But the real reason, the one that only Tina knew was that he loved licking the bowls clean.

“Tina!” he hollered through to the shop floor. “Did you ever get a clarification on whether the Robinsons wanted red or pink rose petals on their abomination?”

When he didn’t get a reply, he strode through and froze, a cold flash of anger flooding him. The idiot from the previous day was back, turned away from Gavin and leaning on the counter as he talked to Tina.

“You!” he snarled. The man straightened up and Gavin swallowed. He must have been really angry yesterday to not realise the guy was so tall. As he turned to fix Gavin with a flat stare, the only thing that went through his mind was a panicked “oh shit” because this was a different man. So similar to the one from yesterday but colder, icy eyes stared Gavin down from lofty heights and all instincts screamed at him to hide. This was not someone to piss off.

“Ah, I believe this was the gentleman who was rather resistant to my brother’s attempts to book a tasting.”

Rather resistant his ass. Gavin gathered up all his courage and was ready to tell this idiot where he and his brother could both shove it. Perhaps even help each other out while they were at it too.

“It’s alright, Special Agent Stern,” Tina cut it. “I’ll make sure I’ll be the one to handle your order. You won’t have to deal with Gavin in any way, shape or form.”

Of course the guy was a special agent. He looked the part right down to his stuffy outfit. In a way, Gavin was relieved that he wouldn’t have to deal with this Stern guy.

“On the contrary.” There was a coolly amused tone to his voice. “I think Connor needs to learn his lesson. I will be leaving him in charge of cake tasting and would like Gavin to handle matters.”

Two sets of disbelieving eyes turned to him. Tina looked surprised but resigned, she was already nodding but Gavin was not having any of it.

“I will not work with that prick,” he declared, arms crossed over his chest. Special agent or not, Gavin was not going to be bullied into something like that. If only Tina and the warmest iceberg that decided to sully his shop would actually have given him a chance to put up more of a fuss.

Like the traitor she was, Tina pulled out the diary and hummed over it. “If your brother could come in for an hour in two days’ time at three in the afternoon, Gavin should be free then.”

“Wonderful,” Stern clapped his hands with satisfaction. “I will bring him by and probably sit in on the first session to make sure nothing untoward happens. Especially after last time.”

He sent Tina a tight smile and nod before sparing Gavin a glance and leaving. Spluttering grumbles broke the silence as Gavin tried to find the words to voice his absolute displeasure. Unfortunately, he wasn’t even given the dignity of that as Tina cut him off with a glare.

“We need this gig. You will play nice with them and we will get them ordering a cake from us.”

However, Gavin was not above whining, “But Tina,” he drew out her name.

“Was the big bad man mean to you? You’re going to have to tough it out. Just give them a good selection of samples and then you can be done with them. It’s an hour. And their wedding’s going to be talk of the town for a bit. With the right picture, our cake could make front page!”

“I will pay, out of my own pocket, for a full page ad on the front cover of any paper if it means I don’t have to deal with those two bastards. I’ve spent only a few minutes in their company but I already know I hate them both.”

Tine gave him an unimpressed look and he threw his hands up in the air.

“Fine. Fine. I will do it. Maybe they’ll choke on it.”

Preparing the samples didn’t take long at all and by the time three pm rolled around, he was ready to personally pick up each piece and shove it down the brothers’ throats. And they hadn’t even made an appearance yet. No doubt that setting eyes on them was going to make Gavin even more annoyed.

Sure enough, when the brothers turned up at exactly three, Gavin was gritting his teeth. There were no smiles exchanged between them, more hostile and assessing gazes.

“Table’s there. Sit.” Gavin jabbed a thumb towards the little seating area in the corner of the shop. “I’ll get you your tasters.”

Out in the kitchen, he was half tempted to spit on the cakes but Tina would actually kill him if he lost their hygiene rating and licence. To be honest, he would hate himself too, still, it was nice to fantasise about it.

The two plates of cake clattered on the table, the samples with toothpicks in them to denote what they were wobbled as a few even toppled.

“Cake,” he grunted. “Eat.”

While Stern and Connor debated which one to try first, Gavin grabbed two bottles of fizzy water and two shot glasses.

“To cleanse your palate between samples.” He was proud of the fact he didn’t call them “filthy palates”. It was a small victory but he still celebrated his self-control.

Clattering away to the counter to sort through some junk or other while the brothers ate cake, Gavin eavesdropped. Not everything was audible but words like “jackass” and “worth it” were bandied around. In the end, Gavin missed the first bite but the huff of surprise was more difficult to not hear.

“Oh fuck me, Nines,” Connor whispered and his brother just gave him a knowing look.

“Let’s cleanse our filthy palates and try the next one.”

Okay, Gavin had to give it to the guy, he knew exactly what Gavin thought of them and wasn’t afraid of calling him out on it indirectly. By the end of it, it did look like Connor had found a new plane of existence as he picked up the few crumbs from the plate too. In all honesty, Gavin wasn’t sure whether he would have licked the plate clean if he wasn’t in such a public setting.

“So? Which one do you want?” Gavin asked, leaning a hip against the counter at the end of the hour.

He should have known the smile Nines shot him was not the sign of his freedom. “They were all very nice. But I’m not sure if they’re quite what I was after. I think another sampling session with different cakes is in order. If you could liaise with Connor and sort out another hour, that would be lovely. I am far too busy to be able to take time off like this so often.”

Both Gavin and Connor spluttered.

“Get yourself a wedding planner, I have a life to live too.”

Never before had Gavin seen someone switch from domineering to soft puppy eyed sibling so quickly before. Eyes wide, lower lip pushed out into a small pout, shoulders hunched and suddenly Nines looked so much younger and, oddly, smaller than Connor.

“Please?” That soft, pleading voice was overkill in Gavin’s opinion but Connor seemed to be breaking. “I wouldn’t trust anyone but my big brother with this. Your taste is pretty much the same as mine, well, when it comes to cakes anyway.”

Subtle dig but Gavin could respect it. Especially when it fired up something else in Connor and made him nod with a strange kind of annoyed determination. Brotherly manipulation of a masterful level, it was actually impressive. However, that was as far as Gavin got because he realised that Nines’ actions also had direct consequences on him. He was going to have to have another tasting session with Connor. And this time, there was going to be no Nines acting as a buffer.

With the brothers gone, Gavin was left to clean up and putter around a little bit. Half an hour later, the door jangled again and Tina stepped in. She looked curious and nowhere near as apprehensive as she should have been. Then again, the shop was still standing and it wasn’t trashed so it probably went better than expected.

“Well?” she looked far too much like a cat who got the cream.

“He’s coming back next week. The samples were nice but not what Nines was after. So his ass of a brother is coming back and I’ve got to make new samples for them to taste. Why do they have to be so picky?” he whined.

What he didn’t know was that Connor and Nines were only three doors down in the coffee shop, hunched over a drink each. Nines seemed utterly at ease with everything while Connor sulked into his drink.

“I can’t believe you’re making me deal with that grumpy git by myself next week,” he groused.

“Grumpy git with a fantastic backside. I wouldn’t be doing this if you hadn’t hightailed it out of there and come crying to me about the utter gremlin that made you have a gay panic because “ _ oh no, he’s hot. And mean. But he runs a wedding cake shop. Sweet Cakes Bakery should be called Beef Cakes Bakery. Surely he has a heart of gold under that rough exterior _ ” and then proceeded to do nothing about it.” Nines shrugged.

It was so easy for him to be so nonchalant about it all, he was getting his happily ever after with Hank. Meanwhile, Connor, as the oldest was nowhere near even having someone in his life, let alone getting married. All while Sixty was years ahead of them both, living together with Allen, as good as married and uncaring about a piece of paper that would tie them legally together. In a way, Connor felt as though he was the odd one out of the three of them. Not quite a failure but definitely lagging behind in terms of interpersonal relationships.

When Nines didn’t have anything else to say, merely stared at him from over the rim of his mug, Connor rolled his eyes and sighed.

“Fine, fine. I’ll do it. I’ll put up with the angry trash panda so you can have the cake you want.”

Grinning, Nines put his empty mug down, pressed a kiss to Connor’s cheek with a “you’re the best” and waved goodbye, disappearing back to whatever cases he was working on now. Knowing he had been played didn’t ease Connor’s frustration at the situation. In the end, he was still stuck having to taste various cake samples in the presence of an infuriating yet intriguing man. It didn’t help that the cakes he made were to die for.

The week whipped past a lot quicker than expected and all too soon for Connor’s liking, he was pushing open the door to the cake shop yet again. He breathed a sigh of relief when there was no sign of Gavin but instead, the woman he had spoken to on the phone looked up from the counter. She offered him a warm smile before turning towards the door through to what Connor imagined to be the kitchen.

“Gavin! Your four o’clock is here.”

“It’s 3:58. He’s early so he can wait two minutes,” came the charming reply.

Out back, Gavin wasn’t actually doing much. He had been taking his frustration out on some icing, beating it into thinner and thinner sheets to cut shapes from. But, truth be told, he’d spent the last ten minutes throwing the left over icing against the board in annoyance, watching the way it splatted before scraping it off, rolling it and throwing it again. Out of spite, he watched the clock strike four and waited a further fifty seconds before emerging from the kitchen two seconds before 4:01.

“It’s you,” he said flatly. “Sit down and I’ll get you your demands.”

Gavin didn’t spare Tina a look as he disappeared, he already knew she was shooting him a frustrated glare. If she wanted the sale so bad, she could easily take over the sampling session, that was her forte after all. Instead, when he slid the plate in front of Connor, she sent him a beaming smile.

“I’ve got a few errands to run, you’ll be okay handling the tasting, won’t you?” She didn’t even wait for a reply before closing the orders book. “You’re the best, Gav. See you later.”

“Bitch,” Gavin called after her and she laughed it off with a wave.

“Are you so charming with everyone or just people you like?” Connor asked as the door shut.

“I can’t stand you. Does that answer your utterly irrelevant question?” He put another bottle of sparkling water in front of Connor and the small glass rattled too.

This time, there was nobody to chat to about the cake samples and Connor was dejectedly working his way through them. It would have been nice if Nines could have joined him. Coming to the end of the samples, he was still none the wiser about which cake to go for. They were all equally nice but not a single one of them made him want to jump out of his seat and exclaim that he had found The One.

“It’s five,” Gavin called over from the counter. “We’re closing.”

He watched Connor stand from the little table, a frown pulled his brows low.

“Thank you for the samples but I’m not sure they are what Nines would be after. Do you happen to have anything a bit more creamy? Or perhaps with a hint of lemons? He likes those very much.”

Torn between outrage at effectively being called not good enough and telling Connor where to shove it, Gavin ended up doing his best impression of an indignant goldfish.

“Next week, same time,” he ended up spitting out and watched as Connor nodded and left. Somehow, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d failed and Connor was sad.

Telling Tina about it, Gavin had expected her to be annoyed. Or at least worried that he was losing them the customer. Instead, she simply nodded and promised to make herself scarce while Gavin dealt with it all.

All week, Gavin spent planning. Creamy and-or lemony. By the time Connor arrived, he had five pieces of samples ready. He’d categorised them as “creamy”, “very creamy,” “lemony”, “creamy lemony” and “lemony creamy”. Hopefully one of those would do the trick and get Connor out of his life. Though, truth be told, since their first meeting, Connor hadn’t been such an unbearable buffoon. And the last time when he’d left still haunted the corners of Gavin’s mind.

It was raining the following week and Gavin watched as a sodden figure trudged to the door, looked at their watch and walked away. It was five minutes to four. That took the joy out of all his bitching, especially when rather than walk in, Connor stood under a stoop just a little way down from the shop. If Gavin had been a kinder man, he would have gone out and invited Connor in. Instead, he waited in the warmth of the shop until four o’clock hit and the door opened.

“Should I get you a bucket to drip into? Or call the insurance company to alert them that the shop is flooding?” he greeted.

“Noah would have left you behind,” was Connor’s reply. However, his words didn’t match his posture. If Gavin didn’t know any better, he would have bet that Connor’s jaw was clenched to stop his teeth from chattering. Rather than comment on it though, he pointed at the table with a “reserved” sign mockingly put on it.

The temptation to stay and watch Connor peel out of his drenched coat was strong, but instead, Gavin bustled out to the back to grab the sample platter. By the time he was back, Connor’s coat was hanging up on the rack, the bucket set by the door for umbrellas was moved so it caught the worst of the drips. The hunch to Connor’s back was too telling and as Gavin set the plate of samples in front of him, he oh so casually touched Connor’s back to keep balance as he leaned over. The shirt was cold and soaked through, Connor’s back chilly to the touch. On his way to grab the sparkling water and small glass, Gavin turned the heating up.

It seemed to go unnoticed for a few minutes and Gavin watched as Connor poked at the cakes without much enthusiasm. Before he could query what the issue was, the shop door opened and a couple stumbled in, giggling and shaking rain onto the floor.

“Hello,” Gavin greeted them with a smile, all too aware of Connor watching from the corner of his eye.

The couple were after quotes, wanting to see previous works so Gavin pulled out the photo album from behind the counter and began talking. As much as this was Tina’s forte, he had picked up a few good habits from her. He even managed to smile and not wince at the squeal the woman let out when she saw a particular design. By the end of it, he had booked them in for a tasting session, the promise of a few designs sketched out too. Once they were gone, Gavin’s smile fell away and he sighed, shoving the album away. A glance at Connor had him frowning.

“Too lemony?” he asked. “Or your face just stuck like that?”

“You really do hate me, don’t you?” The question was so quiet, Gavin had to take a second to process it before he could even fathom a reply.

“You’re just a bit of an ass,” he ended up gritting out.

On the chair, Connor slumped a little and nodded, picking at the crumbs on his plate of untouched samples. Something was obviously on his mind and Gavin desperately wished Tina was there to take over. She was the one who had a knack for turning stressed tears from brides into smiles and laughter. However, she was nowhere in sight and so it was down to Gavin to try and make amends.

“What I mean is-”

“It’s okay,” Connor cut in even though it all looked anything but okay.

Flopping down onto the other chair, Gavin looked at Connor then at the samples that lay untouched. “You worried I spat in your cake or something?”

It wasn’t quite what Gavin had wanted to say but the words were out now and they even earned a bitter laugh from Connor.

“I’m afraid Nines has decided that something with chocolate in it might be the way he and Hank want to go,” Connor shrugged. “I’m sorry you wasted your time on making these.”

Not quite what Gavin was hoping to hear but he scoffed all the same and waved Connor off. “Not you jerking my chain around so I’ll let you off this one. Are they being groomzillas?”

Whatever Connor was about to reply with was interrupted by a growl and Gavin’s hand clutched at his stomach with a remorseful little grin.

“My apologies, lunch was somewhat of a forgotten affair.”

What Gavin didn’t expect was for the plate of samples to be shoved towards him in an offering. He balked and tried to wave it off but Connor was insistent.

“At least share them with me,” he asked, eyes big and hopeful though resigned to rejection.

“Let me get this straight, you’re buying me food that I have made myself?” It was completely the wrong thing to say and Connor shuttered off. The plate was shoved towards Gavin and Connor stood, still soggy but no longer dripping at least. “Hey, hey,” Gavin held up his hands, “no need to get all uppity. Jeez, you’re more touchy than a stray cat over a piece of fried chicken.”

Before he could get any more bright ideas, he reached for Connor, tugged him down into the chair and pointed at the plate.

“Have your fucking cake and eat it too.”

Never before had Gavin seen someone chew so angrily at cake. He could almost see the warring emotions of “oh that’s good” and “I despise you and everything you do”. Each piece was carefully cleaved in half with a fork though and Connor only ate one portion of each cake, all while staring Gavin down.

After a few minutes of silence, where Connor defiantly refused to drink between cakes, the tension seemed to calm down to a frosty simmer.

“You’re not you when you’re hungry,” Gavin snickered and squawked when a glass of water was poured on his head. He blinked up at Connor, torn between outrage and laughter.

“Was the cake really that bad?”

“The cake was annoyingly fantastic even though I don’t like lemon,” Connor retorted. “It’s the service I have issues with.”

What could Gavin say to that? He shrugged and tried to dab some of the water off his face with his apron. A glance at the clock and his eyes widened, it was merrily long gone five. Still, he had a few questions of his own to ask.

“Oh yeah? And what would a good cake and good service look like to you?”

After a moment, Connor eyes narrowed, “Something with profiteroles and a smile.”

A sickly sweet smile appeared on Gavin’s lips as he pushed at Connor’s buttons again. It sounded like a challenge and one he was more than happy to rise to.

“We’re booked full for next week but come along on Tuesday after we shut. We’ll do an out of hours tasting session for you. Chocolate themed.” It was utterly out of line with his usual sour demeanour but for some reason, it felt like the right thing to do.

At least it pulled a small smile from Connor who could recognise when someone was trying to offer an olive branch. Backhanded and idiotic as it might come out as, especially when the other party didn’t necessarily have the emotional intelligence to realise what they were doing.

“I’ll try not to be too early or late,” he nodded.

“Alright you wizard, just arrive precisely when you mean to.”

Gavin stood, feeling a little better than when he sat down at the table. Even if he had just volunteered to do overtime with an insufferable idiot who may not be as bad as initially presumed.

The next day, when he confessed his crimes to Tina, Gavin expected her to either get frustrated or annoyed at his stupidity. Instead, she smiled sunnily and patted him on the cheek.

“I’ll be sure to get the little doilies in by Tuesday then. The tables could do with a bit of sprucing.”

“The tables are fine as they are!” Gavin shot back. “We’re a cake shop, not a granny flat. No doilies.”

He’d already fought her on the idea of aprons with frills and had to bargain his wonderful idea of a shotgun hanging over the doorway to the kitchen. It was a sacrifice he was willing to make, no matter how much he thought it would add a hint of manliness to the place, along with extra safety. But no way in hell was he going to wear a frilly apron. So the gun went along with the frills. Gavin had relented on the teapots along the back wall, almost never used but still kind of cutesy. It was never mentioned but Gavin was the one to dust them weekly after he got upset when Tina did it and messed up the order of them.

On Monday, Gavin took delivery of some doilies.

Tuesday afternoon, after Tina had left a little before five, he put them out onto the table and the top of the cake counter. Gavin spotted Connor approaching a little before five and he actually waved the man in for a change, flipping the sign from  _ open _ to  _ closed _ on the door behind him.

“No flood damage?” Connor greeted him and Gavin snorted.

“Just don’t start crying again and I think we’re safe.”

“I wasn’t crying!” The retort was fierce but didn’t have any bite. “It’s not like you can talk anyway. Have you eaten already? Or will you be drooling over the samples again?”

This was veering away from their usual sniping. While it still held elements of it, the undercurrent of care was shining through. It made Gavin squirm uneasily, only Tina was allowed to show any kind of care for him. Shrugging off the weirdness of it, he decided to turn the tables.

“So you’re actually going to finally treat me like a human?”

He didn’t expect Connorto glance away with a soft blush. “I suppose I owe you an apology for that.” Looking Gavin in the eye, Connor continued to talk, “I’m sorry I was a rude idiot to you that first time. I’d had a terrible day but that was no excuse to take out my frustrations on you.”

Well, that was certainly a surprise and Gavin didn’t quite know what to say to that. In the end, he settled on a “want to tell me what happened?”

Even more unexpectedly, Connor actually told him how he’d been overlooked for a promotion. It was something he had been warned would probably happen because Hank was his supervisor and there couldn’t be any hint of favouritism. Which could be implied, what with Hank marrying his brother and all.

“Nobody can leave, if nobody ever stays,” Gavin tapped his temple with a forced grin. It was how he had avoided any such situation. With Tina being the only person he’d consider anything close to family, he didn’t have to worry about nepotism or rather, the backlash of avoiding even hints of it.

He’d said too much though and couldn’t back out. Instead, he beat a hasty retreat to get Connor his samples - all were chocolate related one way or another but there was a separate plate with a single profiterole on it that he set down with a little more care.

“Now we’re even,” he said and turned to leave Connor on his own. A hand shot out and grabbed his wrist while Connor looked up at him with hopeful eyes.

“Talk me through these, please?” he gestured at the plate.

As reluctant as Gavin was, there was no need to continue their little war, though it didn’t mean the barbs had to stop.

“Well,” he plopped onto the spare chair, “this is a plate.” He pointed at the one in front of Connor. “And on it is a selection of cakes. This one is chocolate mousse filled. This one has a chocolate fondant on it while this one has chocolate baked into it.”

He didn’t expect a giggling smack to his hand with an “alright, smartass” sent his way. Settling back, Gavin watched Connor pick one of the samples up at random.

“You’ve got to do this properly then,” Gavin intoned seriously, “if you take in the aroma first, you will detect hints of autumnal vanilla cane sugar along with the scent of free range, organic butter from truly happy cows.”

At first, Connor had gone to follow his instructions, willing to believe that Gavin was guiding him through a proper way to sample things. However, he quickly realised it was just a mockery of wine tasting.

“Ah yes,” he gave an appreciative and obnoxiously loud sniff, “it is so fresh I think I can still smell the manure in the field.”

Next to him, Gavin threw his head back on a laugh. He clapped Connor on the shoulder good naturedly and got up to grab the water he’d forgotten to get. It was an easy hour to spend with Connor after that. He gave each sample its due consideration and Gavin got to watch his reaction in real time. There were some things which couldn’t be hidden, such as the frown the ganache garnered from him. It was white chocolate, sweeter than Gavin usually like his chocolate but it was a popular choice.

“Too much like your ass?” he asked and Connor gave him a horrified yet confused look. “What, it’s pasty white and sweet?”

Going from openly hostile to flirting so quickly probably wasn’t Gavin’s best idea but here he was. If Connor’s reddening face was anything to go by, he was equally as taken aback and confused, though hopefully not outright rejecting him.

“I prefer my chocolate like your soul. Dark and bitter.”

That was fair and Gavin nodded then looked at the empty main plate in contemplation.

“So, any of those a winner for your dear brother’s tastes?”

It seemed as though Connor was either having a major internal debate or appealing to a deity for something before shyly shaking his head. “They were all very nice, except maybe the ganache one,” he offered quietly, “but I don’t think this is what Nines had in mind when he said chocolate. Is there a way to maybe make it half and half? One side more chocolate rich while the other is plainer?”

For the first time, Gavin didn’t mind Connor refusing his offerings. It was very unusual for a client to need more than two tasting sessions and this was Connor’s fourth if Gavin counted right.

“And maybe, if I paid extra, you’d make two of each sample please?”

Guessing that Nines was going to be coming back in, Gavin nodded. “Would your usual time work?”

It was wild to think that Connor had a regular time but that’s where they were. While he made a note of it in the diary, he watched the way Connor reached for the profiterole, glanced guiltily around and crammed the whole thing in his mouth. A pleased little hum followed and Gavin had to bite his tongue to not make a comment.

“I’m going to take a wild guess that you enjoyed that.”

The way Connor’s head whipped around to stare at him, cheek bulging like a hamster was doing funny things to Gavin’s insides. He offered a lopsided smile when Connor managed to hold a hand in front of his mouth to hide the mess as he got a muffled “very much so” out.

After waiting a few more minutes for Connor to finish his water, Gavin had the place to himself and he let out a longsuffering huff of a sigh. He had no idea what he was doing but feelings were definitely involved. Fuck.

The next morning, Tina gave him a pointed smirk as she took in the sight of the doilies. Like the responsible and mature adult, Gavin stuck his tongue out at her before disappearing back into the kitchen to roll out the dough for the puff pastry hearts someone had wanted in their wedding favours. It was hard work, certainly made up for not having a gym membership though working with cakes, every day was an arm day. Both the hygiene rating people and Tina frowned at the idea of mixing cakes with feet. On second thought, so did he. No feet in his kitchen. Well, obviously there needed to be feet in the kitchen otherwise he couldn’t stand by the counter but no bare feet anywhere near his ingredients.

Such rambling thoughts usually meant he was tired or hungry so a break was in order. The current batch of hearts still had 20 minutes in the oven so he could afford a quick rest. Stepping away from the counter, Gavin washed his hands and wandered into the shop to pester Tina; who was on the phone.

“Yes, everything on your account is fine.” Tina was leaning on the counter, propped up on one elbow as she chattered away. Whoever was on the other end, she had to be somewhat familiar with at least.

“Oh, he’s-” Tina glanced towards the kitchen and her eyes widened so Gavin waved at her. She waggled her fingers in return. “His gremlin is just fine. I think it’s all settling nicely according to plan.

“Yes. Yep. Uhuh. No, I can’t do that. Not now. Okay, that’s fine. Bye for now.”

“That sounded interesting. Gremlin?” Gavin asked, arms crossed over his chest and leaning against the doorframe.

“Customer’s brother has a new pet. He’s proving to be a bit of a shit though and so been christened Gremlin.”

Plausible but it did come with Tina tucking her hair behind her ear - a nervous tic that she always did when lying. However, Gavin wasn’t in the mood to argue and he simply nodded, letting it slide.

“Cool.”

“I see you have Connor coming back in again next week. Are you deliberately serving him crap?” That accusation came out of the blue and had Gavin’s hackles rising up indignantly.

“I’ll have you know that I only serve the best. You know I take pride in that.” He was a little offended actually and tried to find the easiest loophole. “It’s not my fault you’ve saddled me with a picky idiot who keeps changing his mind.”

Only, throwing Connor under the bus like that didn’t feel right. He had to salvage the situation. “I mean, his brother keeps changing his mind. First he wanted something with lemons and cream. Then he wanted something with chocolate. But then it was too much chocolate yet not enough. Why do you think we have the braids and weaves to be made on Monday? I’m going to try and half and half it for them. So some will be chocolate galore while the other will be something much more plain. Well, as plain as I ever get.”

Tina had the audacity to laugh in his face at that but he stood his ground. Even if part of him was agreeing with Tina, he was going far above and beyond anything reasonable. Especially when he admitted that he’d specially ordered a high cocoa count powder to make Connor a special little treat on the side. He sure hoped Connor liked fondant.

Tuesday was slow to roll around. Gavin slaved away in the kitchen, then went running most evening to get at least a semblance of balance and fitness in his legs. If he threw in a few abs and obliques exercises, it was just to break up the monotony of his run. It definitely had nothing at all to do with low hopes of being able to show off for Connor at a later date.

For unknown reasons, Tuesday afternoons were a natural lull in business. It was why it had become Connor’s appointment time. Somehow, it also became Tina’s afternoon off and Gavin was pretty happy to run the shop. Even though he mildly dreaded the idea of having both Connor and Nines in the shop while he was alone. Not that he was scared, but rather, he worried that Nines would pick up on the undercurrent of tension that was less antagonistic between him and his brother. However, when 4pm rolled round, only Connor was pushing the door open.

“What happened to your clone?” Gavin asked.

“How did you know I had a twin?” Connor looked genuinely surprised and Gavin stared at him wide eyes, unsure whether it was a convincing joke or what. “Seriously, I don’t think I’ve even mentioned Sixty before.”

“I thought you were bringing Nines to today’s tasting.” He recovered quickly. “Didn’t think the world could handle more than one of you.”

“Perhaps not the world you confine yourself to,” Connor shot back with a grin. “And no, it was always going to be just me. I simply wanted to share the samples with you.”

It wasn’t often that Gavin got flustered but in that moment he was. Very much so. Part of him wanted to refuse, to joke and rebuff but he found himself settling at the table with two glasses and waters.

“Shall I talk you through each one?” he offered but Connor shook his head.

“I don’t need to know what’s in each one. We should just enjoy the tastes.”

Really, Gavin didn’t have much of an issue with that and he followed Connor’s lead, picking up a twist. He bit into it and sighed, while he wasn’t fond of baked goods, he could still enjoy it at times. However, his eyes bugged out of his head as he watched Connor take a corner of one of the strands between his teeth and nibbled it. Slowly, he ate the chocolate strand first, working it away from the vanilla one.

“It’s really nice,” he said, a few flakes on his lips which he dutifully licked off before taking a sip of water.

After that, Gavin barely paid attention to what he was eating, mesmerised by how Connor was butchering his creations. The icing got licked off the brownie first, which made a bit of a mess. It was smeared on Connor’s cheek and he smiled easily at Gavin. Almost like he had planned it.

“Is there something on my face?” he asked with a cheeky grin.

Yep, he was definitely aware and there was only one response Gavin could give to such blatant flirting. He picked up his own, untouched brownie and mashed it against Connor’s face. It elicited a surprised yelp and Gavin couldn’t help but laugh at the way Connor was blinking at him in stunned silence.

“Oh it’s so on!” Connor grabbed another sample - if Gavin saw correctly, it was the strawberry wafers with chocolate mousse filling. He ducked away from it and it smeared against his cheek as he grabbed Connor’s wrist.

“It’s done like this,” he murmured and guided Connor’s hand to his mouth, taking the squished sample in his mouth and closing his lips around fingers softly. Humming, he pulled back and chewed thoughtfully, enjoying how dark Connor’s eyes had gone. “Let me show you.”

Gavin picked up the wafers delicately and brought them to Connor’s mouth, encouraging him to eat it. This close, he could see the flutter of Connor’s eyelashes as the flavours hit his taste buds, his tongue chased Gavin’s fingers for the last vestiges of taste.

“Fuck,” Gavin muttered under his breath and was out of his chair and straddling Connor’s lap, following the hints of chocolate and strawberry still on his lips. It was safe to say he lost track of time then, intent on getting the last little bits. If only to make sure Connor’s palate was clean for the next sample.

Pulling away, Gavin reached behind him to grab another piece. His hand landed on the chocolate fondant he’d made especially for Connor. It was a rich dark chocolate sponge filled with an oozing centre with a slight hint of chilli. Offering it up to Connor, he should have said something about the liquid centre but it was too late and Connor had bitten into it. Dark chocolate dribbled down his chin and they were giggling away. While Connor licked up what he could and futilely wiped lower down on his chin, all he managed to do was smear it into a sticky mess. There was no way Gavin could or should lick that up. Especially when he remembered they were prominently visible in the shop window, anyone walking by could gawk at them.

Standing up, he moved to the counter to grab a couple of napkins and also to get his own breathing back under control. Making out like that, followed by the giggling had left his heaving deep breaths. He was turning back to Connor who had stood up to stand next to him while cleaning up when the chime above the door went and a nervous, skinny guy entered the shop.

“Good afternoon,” Gavin greeted pleasantly. Something was off though, he’d dealt with anxious customers before and the vibes they gave off were a world apart from what this guy had. Instinctively, he stepped closer to Connor, protecting him bodily. This was the first time he cursed Tina for not letting him hang a gun above the kitchen doorway.

“What can I do to help today?” he kept it polite and pleasant, trying to steer the conversation the way most transactions went.

“You can give me all the money in your till,” the guy replied, twitching a little.

“No can do, I’m afraid. This is a shop. Generally, you leave your money with us and take a cake or an order receipt with you.” Gavin tried to make a joke of it, all too aware of how Connor was at his elbow, a hand resting in warning on his arm.

“You don’t understand,” the robber replied in a shrill voice, “this is a robbery!” He pulled a gun and aimed it at them.

Sending a silent apology to Connor, Gavin gave him a shove, sending him to the floor off to the side and launched himself at the robber. A quick tussle later, he was sat on the guy’s back, an arm twisted into a hold.

“Connor, if you’d be kind enough to call the police please, I’m not sure how long I can hold our friend here.” He was breathing harshly through his nose, out of breath for completely the opposite reasons of before.

There were a clinking of metal behind him and a pair of handcuffs were clipped around the robber’s wrists with practiced ease. It was Gavin’s eyebrows shoot up.

“You may release him, I’ve got this,” Connor laid a hand on Gavin’s shoulder. His voice changed as he addressed the robber. “You are hereby under arrest for attempted robbery.”

From the side, Gavin listened in awe as Connor recited the Miranda Rights in an almost bored fashion. Once the suspect nodded and Connor had settled him on a chair away from the window and remaining cakes, he pulled his phone out.

“Hey Chris,” he sounded warm yet tired, “don’t suppose you could run down to pick up a suspect from an attempted armed robbery, could you? The cake shop three streets over from the precinct. Yeah, that’s the one. Thanks. See you in a bit.”

He turned to look at the suspect then at Gavin, sending him a shrug that pretty much said “what can you do?” and smiled.

“I guess I should properly introduce myself, Detective Connor Stern, homicide.”

In a desperate attempt, Gavin tried to scrape his jaw off the floor and say something but the words weren’t coming.

“Oh yeah,” Connor approached the bookshelf on the side and looked under it, pulling the gun out with a napkin. “Fake. You really thought you could hold up a shop with a toy gun?” he asked the robber over his shoulder.

Something about that made Gavin fume, he’d shoved Connor out of the way and was prepared to take a bullet, only to find that Connor knew it was a fake all along. Before he could get too worked up about it, two uniform clad police officers turned up.

“Connor,” one of them nodded and was greeted with a soft “Chris” in return.

It was relatively quick and easy to give a statement, Chris talking Gavin through the events patiently. At least Gavin had the good sense to gloss over their little makeout session. Officer Miller thanked him for his co-operation and it looked like he was hesitating to say something. In the end he brought a hand up to his chin. “You’ve got a bit of chocolate in your stubble.”

Vigorously, Gavin rubbed at it, frowning at the way his hand came away a little sticky. He thought he had gotten away with it too until Officer Miller turned to Connor.

“You too, got a mess of chocolate on your chin.”

Rumbled. Both Gavin and Connor flushed a deep red and didn’t dare look anyone in the eye as they tried to wipe themselves clean. The two police officers took the robber with them and silence reigned in the shop.

“Well, after so much excitement, I might close up shop early.” He watched the way Connor nodded sadly, eyes drifting to the uneaten samples. “I won’t charge you for today, this little adrenaline fuelled sojourn into the criminal world warrants a refund. And, because I’m so generous, I’ll even bag the cakes for you to take home.”

Putting the cakes into a box with efficient moves, he presented the box to Connor with a small smile.

“And if you just so happen to have a lunch break tomorrow with nothing to do, well, you’d be welcome to pop by for a visit.”

He bid Connor goodbye with a soft peck to the lips, hoping to convey everything his words had failed to say. Once Connor was out the door, Gavin looked around and all his bravado came crumbling down.

“Oh shit,” he muttered, his hands shaking and he sank down in front of the counter, trying to take heaving gulps of breath. Someone had tried to rob their shop. They’d pointed a (fake) gun at them and he’d gone barrelling in without a thought for his own safety. The stupidity of it all sat heavily on his chest. With trembling hands, he pulled out his phone and dialled the only number he had memorised.

“Hey Teenie,” his voice was hoarse. “Could you come down to the shop please?”

Being the friend that she was, Tina was there in 10 minutes, by which time Gavin had mostly pulled himself together. Though his face was still blotchy and eyes red rimmed, he was at least standing up and trying to clear away the plates so the next morning they could have their usual start.

“Gavin!” Tina pulled him into a hug without a word. “Whose ass do I need to kick?”

There was not a lot Gavin could do other that sag against Tina, they staggered a little under his weight but he didn’t have it in him to care. Haltingly, trying to keep his renewed tears at bay, Gavin told her everything that had happened. Including cursing himself out for being so blase and realising how badly it could have all gone.

“You’re taking tomorrow off,” Tina told him but Gavin frantically shook his head.

“Please don’t make me stay home alone with my thoughts. And I need to finish a few orders. Can’t have them be late.”

It earned him a squeeze around the middle and Tina slowly guided him to the chair Connor had vacated not an hour earlier.

“You’re going to sit here and have some water while I lock up. Then we’re going back to yours.”

She made everything sound so simple and easy, Gavin was grateful as he sipped water from the bottle that had been pushed towards him. By the time he had half of it, the shop was looking tidy and clean, good enough for opening the next day. Tina took him by the elbow and they walked home.

As much as Gavin had expected nightmares, he was surprised that none plagued him that night. Perhaps it was the fact that Tina had slept next to him in bed, wearing one of his old t-shirts and sweatpants. In the morning, they opened up shop together and Gavin didn’t have much of a reaction at all which struck him as odd. He hoped that it was because he wasn’t as affected as he’d feared, that the tears from the previous day had been enough to get all the emotions out.

That thought lasted all of until he was about to go into the kitchen and just so happened to glance outside the window. Going past the shop was Connor, hand in hand with another man. That was jarring and he must have made a sound because the next thing he knew, Tina was marching out of the shop and heading for the smiling men who were trading giggling kisses. As Tina stopped in front of them and pulled in a lungful of air, Gavin remembered what Connor had said. He had a twin. Frantically, Gavin pressed against the glass and banged on it for attention. The guy who was not Connor’s twin looked up first with a little frown. However, his attention was quickly dawn back to Tina who seemed to be at the start of a very angry tirade, arms whipping around as she spoke. Gavin pounded on the window again before deciding that the shop could be left for two minutes while he dragged Tina away.

“Sorry, sorry, mistaken identity,” he grumbled as he tried to pull Tina back to the shop.

“Gavin, I will not have you martyr yourself like this. If Connor is playing you, I will publicly eviscerate him without hesitation.”

“Not Connor!” Gavin gasped.

“You were willing to take a bullet for him yesterday. Don’t let your dick blind you!” Tina yelled.

“Holy shit, you’re Connor’s Gremlin.” Not-Connor looked between them. “I didn’t realise you had a pet.”

People had been giving them a wide berth in the street and at long last, Tina fell still. She blinked at the other three, a little confused.

“Guess we should let them know, I’m Fletcher and this is Sixty, Connor’s twin.”

“Oh.” Tina looked flustered. “My apologies. I thought Connor was taking Gavin for a fool.”

The scathing look Sixty sent her spoke volumes about what he thought. “If you have such a low opinion of my brother, I would recommend you do not bother him again. He doesn’t need another person trying to drag him down.”

Suitably chastised, Tina began apologising while Gavin kept glancing back at the shop, trying to make sure nobody went in while it was empty. A hand clapped him on his shoulder.

“Heard you’re stupid but brave with your heart in the right place despite all appearances. Thank you for protecting Connor yesterday.” Sixty offered him a lopsided grin before bidding them goodbye and pulling Fletcher along who turned back to give them a cheery wave.

Next to Gavin, Tina let out a soft “oh fuck, I need to make a phone call.” They returned to the shop where Gavin disappeared into the kitchen and left Tina to her own devices. Whatever call she needed to make, it wasn’t his business. Probably to Nines to beg for forgiveness for assaulting his brother and his partner in the middle of the street. She wouldn’t want to lose their business - even if Nines and Connor seemed incapable of deciding what cake to settle on.

Back in the shop, Tina covered her face with her hands and let out a soft moan. Her face was bright red and Gavin did what any friend would do in such a matter. He pointed and laughed.

“I can’t believe you stood up to those guys,” he hooted. “They were twice your size. I mean, did you see the way that t-shirt was all but bursting across his chest and arms? And you marched up to them, ready to rip their heads off.”

“All to defend your honour, you ass,” Tina shot back but she was giggling too even as Gavin sobered up a little.

“Yeah, thank you for that.” His voice was quiet but it was no less easy to hear.

Anything more was cut off by the ringing of the telephone and Tina overreached to grab it, almost toppling in the process.

“Sweet Cakes Bakery, how can I help?”

Gavin rolled his eyes as he decided to go into the kitchen and actually get some work done. Those cakes weren’t going to bake and decorate themselves. Mostly, he had a relatively mindless task of cutting icing decorations and colouring them. Someone wanted autumnal leaves tumbling down the side of their cake - lots of oranges, yellows and browns with hints of green towards the top. It was simple work, Gavin could easily shut off and not worry about anything other than getting the colours and shapes right. Is hands worked while his mind was idle and it suited him perfectly fine in the moment. He lost himself in the cutting of leaves and colouring them by hand. Sure, their cakes came with a hefty price tag, but people got what they paid for. Which was delicious cake looking exactly like it came out of their dream wedding.

“Knock knock.” A voice drew him from his single minded focus on placing an icing leaf just right.

“Connor!” Gavin actually smiled when he saw him. “Wasn’t sure if you were coming by today.”

He was surprised when Connor stepped into the kitchen but, rather than look around in curiosity, he made a beeline for Gavin and kissed him without any kind of preamble.

“I didn’t get to say thank you for yesterday properly,” he murmured before kissing Gavin again, softer this time.

In true Gavin fashion, he gave as good as he got and even tried to outdo Connor, pressing his tongue insistently against lips until they relented and he was allowed to lick into Connor’s mouth. After a few more minutes of making out, bodies pressed flush together, Connor was the one to pull away, panting.

“Tina is out for lunch. And I may have flipped the door sign to say you’re shut,” he rasped, eyes dark and hungry.

That wasn’t something Gavin could really refuse. Whatever he and Connor had been building up to was finally coming to a head and he didn’t want to put a stop to it.

“Fuck it, I have an hour’s lunch break, what did you have in mind?”

Those were the exact words Connor wanted to hear and he smiled with a predatory flash of teeth. Rather than reply, he was moving kisses from Gavin’s lips to his jaw and neck, leaving little bites which left light red marks in their wake.

“Oh fuck,” Gavin groaned and his hands went to work, shoving Connor until his back was against an unused counter. He worked his shirt open along with his flies and eagerly stripped him between more kisses. They were less sweet, more need filled and definitely the kind that had all of Gavin’s blood rushing south.

“Strip,” Connor ordered as he stepped out of his trousers and underwear. For the first time in his life, Gavin obeyed without arguing back. The apron fell to the floor in a crumpled heap. Casting a glance around, he shrugged and grabbed Connor under the thighs, hefting him up onto the counter and watched as he eyes lingered on the butter.

“We are not using organic, locally produced butter as lube,” Gavin snorted, a little scandalised. “That shit’s too expensive for this.”

“Just as well I came prepared then.” The smug grin Connor shot him had Gavin stilling before his face split into a grin as lube and a condom were fished out of the pocket of the shirt Connor was still wearing. As quick as he could, he unbuckled his belt and pushed his clothes down to mid-thigh.

The next logistical step had also been taken care of, it seemed. When Gavin’s hand trailed to gently touch Connor, his fingers were met by silicone. Eyes going wide, he took a few moments to toy with the handle and watch the way Connor’s eyes fluttered shut, a ragged gasp escaping his lips.

“Don’t tease too much,” he warned and Gavin nodded. Leaning back a little, he watched the plug was slowly eased out of Connor, the bulb of it stretching him delightfully.

“Fuck,” Gavin growled, “that’s really hot.”

Not his most eloquent of moments but he could be excused. Making quick work of rolling the condom on, he squeezed the sachet of lube over it and took a moment to line up before looking up at Connor.

“All good?”

“Just hurry the fuck up and get your dick in me!” Connor snapped, a hand braced on the counter behind him while the other rested on Gavin’s shoulder.

Not needing to be told twice, Gavin slowly pushed in, biting his lip to keep in any noise. He was surprised when a hand rested on his cheek, thumb teasing his lip from between his teeth.

“It’s just us and I want to hear you.” The breath was warm across his face and Gavin was powerless to do much more than let out a soft moan when he was finally all the way in.

“Not going to last long like this,” Gavin warned and helped wrap Connor’s legs around his waist. The reassurances of “doesn’t matter, me neither” were all he needed to hear before slowly starting up a rhythm.

Under him, Connor’s back arched, his neck exposed and inviting for Gavin to nip at it and leave his own marks. That seemed to have Connor all but keening and bucking into him, trying to move despite his position keeping him fairly limited. Soft pleas fell from his lips when Gavin surged forwards, pace and power behind each thrust increasing. All too soon, Connor was gasping, a hand moving from Gavin’s shoulder to wrap around his own cock as Gavin himself began to lose rhythm. The sound of skin slapping against skin filled the kitchen, occasionally interspersed by a moan.

Swearing under his breath, Gavin gave a few final deep thrusts before keening and holding Connor close. While he tried not to collapse onto him or crumple to the floor, Connor’s hand worked over himself and a minute later Gavin could feel him tightening up as he spilled over his hand and stomach.

Neither of them said anything, foreheads resting together and trying to catch their breath enough to be able to move. However, they couldn’t stay like that forever and Gavin pulled away with a small grimace, waddling like a penguin as his trousers caught around his knees. It at least pulled a laugh from Connor who hopped off the counter and, shameless in his lack of clothes, washed his hands and stomach at the sink. He used a disposable wipe to dry off before trying to find his clothes.

“So,” Gavin tried to figure out what to say.

“I like you, you like me, we fucked. Fancy a coffee at some point?” Thankfully Connor made it all sound so simple. When Gavin nodded, he smiled warmly and, once Gavin had cleaned up too, he pressed in for another, sweet kiss.

Pulling a piece of paper from his pocket, Connor pressed it into Gavin’s hand with a quiet “call me” and stole another kiss. Out in the shop, the door’s chime went. Like Cinderella at the ball when midnight struck, Connor turned wide eyed.

“I’ll need another tasting session, how about Tuesday next week?”

“Your usual slot has been reserved for you, your royal pain in the ass,” Gavin shot back but they were both grinning. As Connor stepped out of the kitchen, he greeted Tina with some cheer and left before she could go in the kitchen.

As soon as she stepped in the door and took a sniff, her face crumpled into a frown of disgust.

“Really Gavin? Think of the hygiene rating!” she yelled. “You’d better do an industrial deep clean of the kitchen before you work on anything else. And don’t tell me nothing happened. I saw the buttery handprints on Connor’s back.”

Rumbled, Gavin had the grace to look a little bit chastised as he grabbed the bleach. Not like he wasn’t going to do it anyway, he did have standards after all. Left to his own devices, he found himself humming as he worked.

That evening, he dropped Connor a text and they traded fond insults over the course of a couple of hours before Gavin had to sleep. He didn’t expect that the following day would be as chaotic as it turned out.

It started off like every other day. Gavin in the kitchen, putting finishing touches to the cake with the leaves on it, making sure the icing finish was flawless before it was to be collected later on that day. He was just about to suggest coffee to Tina when the door opened and Connor all but fell in, eyes wide with panic.

“I fucked up,” he panted, ruffled and obviously in a mad rush. “I know we said another tasting session for Tuesday but I forgot that the wedding is on Saturday!” Behind the counter, Tina snorted and tried to hide it unsuccessfully. “I don’t suppose you could do a rush order?”

Weighing everything up, Gavin grimaced. “I won’t be able to do anything fancy and I will have to work so much overtime to get it done. What did you have in mind?”

“The theme is autumn, it’s when Hank and Nines met. I saw that leaf decorated one in the kitchen yesterday,” he blushed deeply and didn’t dare look at Tina. “Something similar in colour but a lot more simple?”

Gavin’s mind was working through the options, trying to figure out something that looked nice, worthy to be called one of their creations but wouldn’t take too long. In all honesty though, he was struggling. Behind Connor, the door chimed open.

“Nines, Hank,” Tina smiled as she greeted them. They nodded back and looked at Connor with great interest.

“How’s the cake selection going?” Nines asked with a teasing lilt to his voice. Opposite him, Connor looked like a cornered cat, all wide eyed and almost cowering.

“About that,” he began, his hands were wringing themselves.

“He’s picked the best tasting one we could offer,” Gavin stepped in. “It will be ready for Saturday. And, Connor has said you weren’t much for flashy designs so we’re keeping it a classic design. You’ll love it.”

Behind the counter, it sounded like Tina was dying. “Gavin, could you please get the Anderson order out from the back please? I’m sure Hank and Nines have better things to do than bully and tease poor Connor.”

Confusion flitted through Gavin, especially when Connor yowled a “you bastard” and landed a punch on Nines’ shoulder. In response, Nines threw his head back and laughed while even Hank looked more than amused.

“The Anderson order is for the Stern-Anderson wedding,” Tina clarified.

Finally putting two and two together, Gavin chuckled weakly. Not quite knowing what to say, he went out to grab the cake Connor had been talking about earlier. As he put the box on the counter, he caught the tail end of a muttered conversation and Nines stepped around Connor smoothly, holding an envelope aloft and out of his reach.

“This is for you,” Nines handed it to Gavin. The bronze envelope bore his name. He tore it open and read it with a slack jaw. A wedding invite. More specifically, an invite to go with Connor. Looking up, Tina was grinning while Connor was beetroot red.

“Well?” Hank asked gently at the same time as Tina chimed in with a “I’ve got you booked off for the day. I’ll cover the shop.”

Rather than reply, Gavin looked at Connor and sent him a questioning look.

“Do you want me there as your plus one?”

After a beat, Connor gave a firm nod, “Very much so.”

That settled it then, Gavin looked over at Hank and Nines with a small, appreciative smile.

“Thank you for inviting me, is there a wedding list I could get you a gift from? Owing to the fact that I don’t know either of you all that well, I wouldn’t know what else to get.”

If Tina wasn’t proud of him for having such impeccable manners then she was a disappointment to humanity. However, the thumbs up she gave him from the other side of the counter more than conveyed her opinion on the matter, as did the fact that Connor came up to his side and wrapped an arm around his waist.

It seemed, Gavin was going to a wedding. Which was great but the next problem arose. Finding an appropriate suit. Perhaps, if all else failed, Connor would let him go in one of his baking crop tops, the one that said  _ Pound Cake  _ seemed like an appropriate choice.

In the end, Connor didn’t let him wear just that to the wedding. But Gavin still managed to surprise him when it was revealed from under his suit, a few drinks and hours into the reception party when everybody was drunk and dancing. The stifling heat of it all was more than worth the look of shock on Connor’s face. And the thank you blowjob in a dark corner of a service corridor.

**Author's Note:**

> Bumbling away like usual on tumblr as @connorssock


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